Thank you to john6lisa for the title of this chapter.
This is short - but I have to get Myka's parents there for Thanksgiving.
Love the posts about whether Myka made a mistake or not.
Swatting the Hornet's Nest
Not only was Helena now confused and frustrated, but Irene had the audacity – or was it brilliance – to leave the Brit to figure it out for herself.
"Really, why do I even consult her?" Helena said to herself as she stared out the window certain the woman had done little to help. Myka being worried wasn't beyond Helena's grasp, or her frustration at not being consulted. But Helena had offered her explanation and assurances and still Myka did not calm down.
Why was Irene insisting that Helena be so reasonable when Myka wasn't being reasonable? And where was Myka? Why didn't she tell her that she was going out and would be busy? And why did she leave Helena all alone to deal with this mess?
"So it's not flowers, dinner, or jewelry," Helena said out loud hoping the answer would pop into her head. She dialed Myka again hoping to apologize for the ways in which she was apologizing, but it went to voice mail again.
Suppose she really needed Myka? Did she not know that this was just…. damn rude?
Helena sat at her desk pushing papers around to keep her hands busy. It was not like Myka to do something like this – she had to be very upset. Helena had done things before to annoy her and she had suffered her wrath. She had been slapped in the face and turned away after going down on her knees! Why was this so hard? Helena asked over and over again. Fine, she would admit defeat. She could not figure it out. She would find Myka, tell her she lacked the required gray matter to come up with a solution and ask her help. All she had to do was find Myka. This wouldn't be hard because Steve was now her body-guard.
Eileen shot up from her desk. She had kept the world at bay all afternoon and wouldn't allow anyone in. Artie threw his hands up in frustration. He was just back from his vacation and needed Helena, but there was no way he was getting past Pit Pull Sullivan.
"Are you going home, Ms. Wells?" Eileen asked.
"I am going to find Ms. Bering," Helena said.
"Oh good," Eileen said and Helena stopped and turned around.
"Why is that good?" she asked the resident Romantic.
"Because she's afraid and you being with her will reassure her," Eileen said.
"She's…afraid," Helena repeated and went down in the elevator.
"Mr. Lattimer, get me Mr. Jinx and remind him that I am not in a good mood," Helena said as she called for the car.
"Did you ever have one of those days when you just wish you could go back to bed?" Myka asked Bridget over lunch.
"Please, I have that about every other day," Bridget laughed. "Myka?" she asked looking over.
"Yes," Myka said biting into the grilled chicken sandwich.
"Just so I'm clear on something. You asked me to do lunch as a friend, nothing more right?" the smartly dressed woman in her signature Brooks Brother dark gray suit asked.
"Right, I don't know many people in New York and I thought ….." Myka said embarrassed that she was announcing she had no friends of her own. "I hope that's okay with you?"
"Well, it's not my first choice, but I'm a big girl, so yes. You're a smart woman, Myka. I enjoy your company," the woman said in her southern drawl.
"Georgia?" Myka asked.
"Very good," Bridget said. "Colorado Springs?"
"Oh wow, how did you know that?" Myka asked amazed because she didn't really have a discernible accent.
"You told me last time," Bridget confessed and Myka laughed.
The women talked business and how it took a while for each of them to get acclimated to working and living in the City. Bridget talked about her long hours at work and how it left little time for anything else. Myka talked about how much she enjoyed her job, in spite of crazy days like today. The two women enjoyed lunch – as friends.
Myka felt her phone vibrating in her pocketbook, but when she saw the number she didn't take it. She felt mean and didn't want Helena to worry, but she could do something that Helena could not – she could wait. When the lunch was over, Myka paid the tab and thanked Bridget for coming.
"If I was unsure before, Myka, spending this time with you only makes it clearer to me," Bridget said.
"What is that?" Myka asked.
"How much you love Helena," the investment banker said.
"What makes you say that?" Myka wondered because they had only talked about work for a short time.
"Because of the way your face lights up when you talk about her, and the pain in your eyes when she calls and you don't want to take her call. Go home, Myka. Forgive her for whatever she's done and I'm sure it's a doozy to upset the very calm, cool-headed Myka Bering, " Bridget said and hugged –not kissed – Myka.
Myka thanked her, sensing that the woman spoke from experience and perhaps that is what made her so philosophical.
Steve was almost certain this would be the day he got fired. Or killed. Pete called him and said he had Helena in the car and she wanted to find Myka. "Where is she?" was the question and Steve said he didn't know what to do because Myka was 'not alone'. Pete nearly hit a taxi. Steve suggested he ask Helena is she would rather just wait at home. Instead, Pete purposely got stuck in traffic. He hoped it would mean they would miss Myka at the restaurant. Hard as he tried, that was the one day traffic moved quickly and they were at the restaurant just as Myka and Bridget said their goodbyes.
Had someone punched Helena in the chest, it would have been less painful. Pete grabbed the steering wheel bracing for all hell to break loose in the back seat. He heard Helena gasp. She had her hand on the seat belt ready to rush out of the car. Her eyes were locked on that embrace between Myka and the woman who had kissed her the other night. Her breath quickened and pain surged inside her as if there was a vice on her heart. This is exactly why Helena didn't fall in love. The pain of caring was unbearable and it made her vulnerable. She couldn't move – she was so frozen with it. She watched Myka get into the town car under the worst possible condition – she was smiling. Myka Bering who had just ripped into Helena hours before with anger - was happy.
Helena let go of the seat belt and sat back in the soft leather seat. "Take me home, Pete," she asked in what Pete thought was the saddest tone he ever heard her use.
"Sure," he said and went back into traffic.
"Steve, would you take me to my apartment. I just need to get a few things before I go home," Myka said without thinking of the words.
Pete glanced in the review mirror to watch his boss. She was staring out the window, looking miserable. He wanted to help her and he knew her long enough to know what she needed. He also wanted her to calm down before Myka got home. 'This is exactly why we need code names,' Pete thought to himself.
He drove up to the townhouse and opened the car door for Helena.
"Let's go," he said walking in front of her to the house.
"Excuse me?" Helena said.
"Let's go, get changed," Pete said never stopping.
"I beg your pardon, Mr. Lattimer?" Helena said thinking the man lost his senses.
"Look," he said as he put his hand on the security device and opened the front door, "Irene will talk you through this, Eileen might give you tips about how to fix this, Claudia will …well I don't know what she'll do, but... I know what you need... and I'm the only one who can give it to you," Pete said puffing out his chest.
"Mr. Lattimer, I do hope you're not suggesting that we…," Helena asked very confused. The Fashion Institute student jumped to get her coat that was falling off her shoulders.
"Get her some workout clothes," Pete said and the youth ran up the stairs.
"I appreciate whatever it is you think you are doing," Helena said not wanting to go for a run.
"I'm gonna kick your ass, is what I'm doing, " Pete said and the pulled back a little…just in case.
Helena looked at him. He must have hit his head during the day. He had grabbed a black bag from the front seat and brought it in with him. He picked it up and tapped it.
"I'll be downstairs in five minutes. If you don't show up, I'll know it's because you're chicken," he said goading her.
"This is ridiculous," Helena said taking the clothes the student handed her.
"You English really suck at this, don't you?" Pete poked. There was only one way to get Helena to allow her feelings to come out and Pete would use something he learned it childhood – You swat the hornets' nest and run.
Irene appealed to her head; Eileen to her heart. Pete Lattimer was going to get to her emotional state by letting her pummel him with boxing gloves.
"Some of the greatest pugilists were English, I'll have you know," Helena declared.
"Yeah, well that ends today when you do down sister. Now I'm not allowed to hit girls, so we'll have to …," Pete said on purpose.
"Do not pull that misogynist lowering of standards because I am a woman," Helena yelled at him.
"Oh no I was doing it because you're… English," Pete said giving his last hit at the hive before it erupted into an army of angry buzzing.
Five minutes later, and before she knew it, Helena had donned headgear and gloves laced up by the student most interested in athletic wear.
"Who is your next of kin?" Helena asked and then remembered. "Never mind, Mr. Lattimer, I'd rather call Detective Tierney to come pick you up."
"Oh don't worry, Jane will pick me up, but when I tell her how I whopped you – she'll be so happy," Pete said and moved out of the way of the forceful jab coming towards him.
His plan was simple – antagonize his boss just the right amount to get her so angry she would take it out on him. Then when Myka did get there, Helena would be too exhausted to fight. It was the perfect plan. He knew Helena would be good at sparring and he did his best to get out of her way.
"Are you going to make any jabs, Mr. Lattimer?" Helena complained when he his moves were all defensive.
"I can't take advantage," he explained.
Myka grabbed a couple of more outfits and things that she needed. As angry as she had been, now she was really just more in touch with how worried she was about Helena getting hurt. She would go up to the townhouse and have dinner with her and talk about it. Steve took her up and tried to text Pete that they were on their way. He never got the text. He was too busy keeping Helena occupied. This is why they never heard Myka come in.
Myka came into the townhouse and could hear the noise. She asked the Fashion Institute student where Ms. Wells was and she explained she was fighting with the man downstairs. Myka flew to the door and down the stairs.
Myka stood there relieved that it an orchestrated fight – and that it was Pete who was doing the coaching. Even thought it sounded like provoking.
He had worked Helena up and she was jabbing and swinging, but he was doing a good job of getting out of her way. Every once in a while, he would poke back – adeptly hitting her on her shoulder. Helena detested that he was making it easy and demanded he fight like a man.
"Ok, if you insist…," he said with no intention of hitting her hard and giving her every opportunity to duck – which she would have done had she not caught the sight of Myka on the stairs and got distracted. Pete had his back to the stairs and never saw Myka. He was too busy getting ready to swing hard, miss and fall down.
Helena called out – "Myka!" just as Pete swung and instead of missing, hit the target squarely and with force – knocking Helena down.
Helena fell like the proverbial sack of potatoes – fast and easy. Myka screamed and ran to her. Or was it Pete who screamed and bent down? Myka was calling Helena's name and had her head in her lap as she pulled the protective headgear off her.
"Are you okay? Helena? Are you okay?" Myka said looking down at the stunned, but very conscious woman.
"Myka? I'm so sorry I didn't tell you. I'm sorry I tried to fix it with flowers and dinner and jewelry. I know you are scared and that is why you left and went to that woman. I am sorry and if you don't want me to do it, I won't. I'll tell Detective Tierney that I am sorry, but I can't do it. It would scare you too much," Helena said all in one breath.
Myka stared down at her horizontal lover and realized how much she had missed her that afternoon. "Oh Helena," Myka said kissing her lips and touching her head to see if she was okay. "Are you hurt?" she asked Helena who assured her she wasn't, but didn't want to move from the embrace.
"Helena, I'm sorry about today. I had lunch with Bridget because I didn't know who else to go with," Myka said. "I just needed to think."
"And what did you think about?" Helena asked looking up into Myka's face.
"I thought about how – you are erratic and impulsive and you do as you please. I thought about how you make the world bend to your will and don't play by the rules," Myka said and Helena's heart sank a little.
Pete was afraid he'd have to get another set of gloves.
"And I thought about how much I missed you even though you were blocks away and how I have never been this much in love and I adore everything about you – even the stuff that scares the hell out of me, Helena," Myka said in a much softer tone. She bent over and kissed Helena passionately.
Helena pulled Myka's head in even though she was still wearing the gloves. In that kiss was all that Helena wanted – Myka was back.
"My work here is pretty much done," Pete said feeling very proud of himself as he walked up the stairs. "Pete Lattimer, boxer of love," he said shadow boxing his way to the door. "A-dr-ian!"
He would taunt Irene and Eileen the next day about his prowess.